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EZRA C. WALKER, OF NEWARK', NEW JERSEY..

Letters Patent lVo. 62,381, dated February 26, 1867.

IMPROlEMENT lIli HOOP-SKIRTS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, EZRA C. WALKER, of the city of Newark, in the county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Hoop-Skirts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being herein had to the drawings accompanying this specification making part of the same.

The nature of my improvement consists in attaching stiff' and spring braces to the front of the skirt in order to prevent it from rising when the wearer is taking a seat, leaving the other parts of the. skirt as loose and compressible as ever, or very nearly so; and also in the peculiar form of the clasps used to attach the ends of the braces to the hoops. In the drawings Figure l is the skirt with the braces attached.v

Figure 2 is the clasp for the top of the brace; and

Figure 3, the clasp for the bottom.

A single brace straight down in front of' the skirt would hold the front down. I prefer two braces, to be placed wider apart at their upper than at their vlower ends. The braces a and b can be of any material that is sutiiciently sti` for the purpose; ordinarly a piece of a hoop will be employed. In addition to the stili' braces a and b in a larger-size skirt, spiral spring braces c and IZ are also attached, all the braces being of the length that convenience or fancy may'dictate in regard to the number of the hoops that are by the braces held together in a iixcd position in the front of the skirt. By these means an ungraceful lifting of the skirt in front when the wearer attempts to take a seat, that occurs most frequently in cars, omnibuses and depots, is eiectually prevented, the spirals facilitating the return of the skirt to its proper position upon the rising of the wearer. The clasp, iig. 2, is for fastening the top ends ofthe braces a and b to the hoop; the ends e andf clasp the hoop, and the stemg the brace, preventing the end of the brace from projecting beyond the hoop. The clasp, g. 3, has two prongs, L and t', and a stem, Each prong clasps an end of a brace and is bent around it, and when the stemjis bent round the hoop between the prongs, the ends of the-braces a and Z are prevented from projecting below the lower hoop. I

i Disclaimer.

I do not broadly claim bracing skirts in front.

Olae'm.

But what I do claim as my improvement, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is- Bracing the front of a skirt by aiixing thereto the springs a and b, when combined with and arranged upon the skirt in the manner and for the purpose specified. Also the use of the spirals e and d, in combination with the braces a and I), for the purposes set forth. l v y EZRA C. WALKER.

Witnesses:

WM. M. Gooonun, EDWARD CoLLvER. 

